State champs get first victory

The Bulldogs cruised over the flat course in Brooten on Thursday, Sept. 6, returning to winning form. Paynesville defeated its rival Montevideo by 11 points to win the BBE invitational on a windy day.

"This was a solid, fun performance for the Dogs," said coach Darrel Carstens.

"We ran very well. We improved from our first meet. It was a good win for the team," added Carstens.

Led by the 11th ranked Class A runner in the state, Dan Pearson, the Dogs formed a tough front pack. Pearson took second place and followed closely once again by Jesse Rien, who came in third. Coming in five seconds behind Rien was Riley Flanders, who took fourth.

Both Pearson and Rien covered the course in less than 17 minutes. Flanders needed just four seconds more than that.

This trio of Bulldogs was bested only by Montevideo's Greg Liebl, the defending Class A individual champion.

In just his second cross country race, Chad Wyffels ran the five kilometer course in less than 18 minutes, coming in 21st. That is an important and impressive barrier to break. With continued hard work, Wyffels could become a front runner for the Dogs.

The fifth Bulldog runner to cross the finish line was Jamie Wendlandt in 26th. Wendlandt finished with a time of 18 minutes and 16 seconds. Coming in three places later was Freddie Stock, who finished with a time of 18 minutes and 29 seconds.

Freshman Jason Wendroth ran his first varsity race at the golf course in Brooten. He finished the race in 44th place. "Keep your eye on Jason. He is going to be a very good runner," said former runner Eric Korman.

The defending state champions are back on the winning track and should be taking a few more steps in the right direction in the near future. "I really feel this group will continue to make progress throughout the year," said Carstens.

The Dogs ran at LPGE on Tuesday and will run at the Little Crow Golf Course between New London and Spicer on Thursday.